Author Archives: Kathy

Hamburger Potato Casserole

Posted in Casseroles by

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” –Victor Borge

This is an old recipe that though simple, is easy to put together for a comfort food dinner.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 3 cups peeled and thinly sliced potatoes
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • salt to taste
  • freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees.
  2. In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef and then drain fat.
  3. In a mixing bowl stir together the cream of mushroom soup, onion, milk, salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Alternately layer the potatoes, soup mixture and meat in a 11×7 inch (2 quart) baking dish. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Top with Cheddar cheese, and continue baking until cheese is melted.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Posted in Casseroles, Chicken Dinners by

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Grandpa really likes Chicken Noodle Soup.  When I came across this recipe for Chicken Noodle Casserole, I knew I had to save it and make it for him.  I found it at life-in-the-lofthouse.com. 
Recipe Source: https://life-in-the-lofthouse.com/chicken-noodle-casserole/
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 2 cups uncooked egg noodles
  • 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
  • 1 (10 oz.) package frozen peas and carrots
  • 1 (10 oz.) package frozen corn
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 (10 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 (10 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • ½ Tablespoon dried minced onion
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
  2. Boil egg noodles according to package directions. Drain water.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine all the other remaining ingredients. Add cooked noodles to mixture. Gently stir to combine everything. Pour into prepared baking dish. Cover with foil.
  4. Bake 30 minutes or until heated through. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole

Posted in Breakfast, Casseroles, Christmas by

Christmas brunch

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. –Charles Dickens

This was so good and so easy.  I made this Christmas morning and all of us gobbled it up.   Thanks to Sara for the lovely fruit salad we had with it.  We all loved the pomegranate seeds she added to it.

About 12 servings.

Ingredients

  • 2 small cans chopped green chilies
  • 1 large bag of shredded hash browns (32 oz bag), thawed
  • 1 Tablespoon dried onion flakes
  • 1 Tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 medium container (16 ounces) cottage cheese (2 cups)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4-6 cups grated cheddar cheese
  • 2 packages Jimmy Dean sausage
  • 1 pound bacon
  • 12 eggs
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange bacon slices on the foil and place the baking sheet on the center rack.  Cook for about 15 minutes or until done.  Drain fat, pat bacon with paper towel to remove excess fat.
  2. While bacon is cooking, crumble your two packages of Jimmy Dean’s sausage in a fry pan and cook.  Drain grain and rinse excess fat from sausage in a strainer under hot water. 
  3. Open 2 small cans of green chilies and dump contents into a bowl.  
  4. Add the dried onion flakes and cottage cheese to the chilies and stir together.  (I was about a cup shy on the cottage cheese so I added a cup of sour cream to make up for it).   Sprinkle about a tablespoon of onion powder over the mix and stir.
  5. Add 4-6 cups grated cheese and about a 1/2 cup of sour cream and mix all this together, then add crumbled sausage and stir together.  
  6. Add bag of hash browns to the mix and combined thoroughly.
  7. Spoon this mixture into your lightly greased casserole dish.
  8. Mix 12 eggs together with a fork in a separate bowl and then pour them over the top of the casserole.
  9.  I poured about a 1/2 cup of milk over the top of the casserole to help moisten it at this point.  
  10. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over the top.
  11. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for about 50-60 minutes until lightly browned on top or until bubbly around the edges. 

Rhodes Quick and Easy Orange Rolls

Posted in Bread, Rolls and Muffins by

Quick and Easy Orange Rolls

Ingredients
Rolls:
12 frozen dinner rolls  (I use Rhodes)
Grated rind of one orange
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C melted butter

Citrus Glaze:
1 C powdered sugar
1 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp orange juice
Instructions

Directions:
1. Mix together powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp melted butter and orange juice and stir until smooth
2. Thaw dough in the refrigerator over night or 2-3 hours prior to use
3. Cover with plastic wrap while thawing
4. Grate orange rind and mix with sugar
5. Roll thawed roll in 1/2 C melted butter and then in sugar and rind mixture
6. Place on greased cookie sheet or 9 x 13 pan
7. Cover with plastic wrap and allow rolls to double in size – approximately 1 hour
8. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes
Let rolls cool enough that they aren’t hot (about 5 minutes) but still warm and then frost them with the citrus glaze.

Easy Tuna Casserole

Posted in Casseroles, Dinner by

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cooked macaroni (about 1 1/2 cups dry)
  • 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups French fried onions

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In a 9×13-inch baking dish, combine the macaroni, tuna, and soup. Mix well, and then top with cheese.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until bubbly. Sprinkle with fried onions, and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Brooklynn’s Easter Rolls

Posted in Bread, Rolls and Muffins by

This is the delicious roll recipe Brooklynn made for Easter:

Ingredients:

  • Rhodes frozen rolls
  • butter
  • garlic powder
  • salad supreme seasoning
  • Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Let rolls thaw about an hour.

Dip them in melted butter and twist them like a bow tie and line them up in a glass baking dish.

Brush them with butter, then sprinkle them with garlic powder, salad supreme seasoning, and Parmesan cheese (optional).

Let them rise for 2-3 hours and then bake for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patty’s Potato Salad

Posted in Potatoes, Salads by

vintage-christmas-party

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!” –Longfellow

I LOVE THIS SALAD.  I don’t what the magical combination is in this salad but it’s a favorite.  I got this recipe from a sweet little lady named Patty, who lived next door to my friends, the Bernhisels, a long time ago.  She brought this wonderful potato salad to their annual neighborhood Christmas party every year and I just thought it was the best potato salad I’d ever tasted.

Ingredients:

  • 12 Idaho potatoes oiled, cooled, peeled and diced
  • 12 boiled eggs
  • 2 green peppers chopped
  • 1 bunch celery chopped fine
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 12 small radishes

Mix with Kraft Miracle Whip (use about 3/4ths of the jar).  Salt and pepper to taste.

The Best Lasagna

Posted in Dinner by

Ingredients – I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks but it is very similar to my Lion House Party Lasagna recipe.

This particular adapted recipe drew rave reviews from you kids.

  • 1-½ pound Ground Beef
  • 1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage
  • 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
  • 2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
  • 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
  • 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 3 cups Low-fat Cottage Cheese (I added 1/4 of sour cream to the Cottage Cheese mixture)
  • 2 whole Beaten Eggs
  • ½ cups Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese — (I used what I had in the fridge which was a small bag blend of of Shredded Parmesan, Fontina,  and Asiago Cheese.  I also used this for the topping, in addition to the grated Parmesan)
  • 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese (I used 8 oz. of sliced Mozzarella and 8 oz. of sliced Sharp Tillamook because that’s what I had)
  • 1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles
  • (add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)

Preparation Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil (I added 1/2 Teaspoon Salt and 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil to water).

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.  I did not cover the sauce while it simmered.  I simmered it on low heat until it was thick.

In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese (and sour cream), beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).

Gently separate the noodles while boiling. My package directions called for 8 minutes.  I boiled the noodles for 7 minutes and then drained them and rinsed them in cold water.  Lay a square of tin foil or parchment paper on the counter and lightly spray it with Pam spray so the noodles won’t stick to it.  Pat each noodle dry with paper towel and lay them on sprayed tin foil to dry.

To assemble:
Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan (I lightly sprayed the pan), overlapping if necessary.  Spoon half the cottage cheese/sour cream mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly.  I made sure the topping didn’t go over the edge of the noodles, just close to the edges.  Cover cottage cheese with the 8 ounces of sliced mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.  Lay the next four noodles down over the meat mixture.  Top with 8 ounces of sliced Sharp American Cheese (orange color).  Then add the remaining meat sauce to the top of this.  At this point I sprinkled my small bag of shredded Parmesan, Fontina and Asiago cheese blend that I happened to have over the lasagna.  Then I sprinkled grated Parmesan cheese to cover the entire top of the lasagna.

I put it in the fridge over night so the flavors would blend.  I took it out of the fridge at noon and let it come to room temperature, which took 4 hours.  It was a lot of lasagna and it was very cold when I took it out. I put it in a preheated 350 degree oven at 4:00 p.m. covered with tin foil and I cooked about 45 minutes, then I removed the foil and cooked about another 15 minutes until it was bubbly all over.  Watch it so the cheese doesn’t get brown on top.  I let the lasagna sit for about 15 minutes or so while I sauted the vegetables.  When we cut the lasagna, it was firm and held its shape.  I had wondered if the added the sour cream would make it too creamy, but it was perfect.

You can freeze it and cook it later or you can keep it in the fridge for 2 days before baking it.

Instant Pot Best Ever Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Posted in Dinner by

Recipe Source – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYEDFF03zrE

The bundt pan used in this recipe is this: Nordic Ware 51322RD 51322 6 Cup Bundt Pan 8.4″ x 2.9″ Size, Multicolor from Amazon

Take a large mixing bowl.

Add a lb of ground beef, ½ lb ground pork and ½ lb ground veal OR just 2 lbs ground beef (85-95 lean)

(The leaner the meat, the better the meatloaf)

Take a medium yellow onion and remove top and bottom and peel skin.  Then grate it with cheese grater into the bowl.

Then add:

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

One full cup of bread crumbs

3 T crushed garlic

1 T seasoned salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 T dried parsley

½ cup whole milk

2 T ketchup

2 T BBQ sauce,

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

With clean hands mix everything up with your hands until well blended.

When it forms into a ball, spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray.  Add meat to a bunt pan and press it into the bundt.  The bundt pan will help the meatloaf cook evenly.

Make meatloaf all smoothed out on top.  Cover it with foil that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.  Cover it and set aside.

Then:

Take 3 lbs of potatoes – use 1.5 lbs baby red potatoes, and 1.5 lbs baby whites (Can you Yukon Golds but they are larger and you might want to peel them first)

Cut potatoes into quarters.

Put them in the instant pot and smooth them out.  Top with five cloves of garlic.

Pour in a cup and a half of chicken broth OR 1 1/2 teaspoons of Chicken Better than Bouillon mixed with one and a half cups of water.  Put trivet on top.  Leave the handles down.

Put bundt pan on top.  Prick a hole in the middle of foil so air can come through.  Put bundt on top of trivet and then put the lid on.  Make sure you are in sealing position.

Depending on your instant pot model, press Manual or Pressure Cook.  Cook for 35 minutes at high pressure.

Meatloaf glaze- ½ cup ketchup, ¼ cup BBQ sauce, 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 T yellow mustard, 1 T honey, two packed T of light or dark brown sugar and balsamic vinegar glaze.  In salad dressing area of the grocery store.  Add 1 teaspoon of it.

Combine everything together in bowl.  Set aside.

Quick release when meatloaf is cooked.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take tongs to remove the bundt pan and lift it out.

Take trivet out.  Take foil off meatloaf.

Drain the fat and excess juices carefully.

Line a baking sheet with foil with spray it with nonstick spray.  Place foil covered cookie sheet on top of the bundt and flip bundt over.

Brush glaze on it

Put meatloaf in there for 5 to 10 minutes until it caramelizes.

Mash the potatoes.

Season with 4 T butter, ½ cup half and half or heavy cream and mix together in pot until butter and cream is well mixed.

Add one 5.2 oz Boursin garlic and fine herbs gournay cheese.

This is what it looks like:

Then add: 1 t kosher salt, 1 t black pepper, 1 t garlic powder, ½ t Italian seasoning, and a quarter of a cup of chopped chives.

Stir well into the potatoes.

Check on meatloaf, transfer to a plate

Put mashed potatoes in the middle of the meatloaf ring.

Enjoy.

Sara’s Protein Balls

Posted in Cookies by
  • 1 cup of instant old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup ground flax meal
  • 1/4 cup or 1/2 scoop of chocolate Whey protein powder
  • 2-3 Tbls of honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

Just mix them together and then roll into balls. Refrigerate and then enjoy.